[This is a re-post of my interview from the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.  While I rarely re-post interviews, this was one of my favorite interviews of 2012 and with the movie now playing in limited release, I decided it was worth another post.]

Every once in awhile you land an interview that you can’t wait to share. The one you’re about to watch with Chris Evans is one of those. At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, I got to sit down with Evans for over twenty minutes (we were scheduled for a lot less) to talk about his great work in director Ariel Vromen‘s The Iceman. As you can see in the trailer, Evans plays a killer and is nearly unrecognizable in dirty long hair as Richard Kuklinski’s (Michael Shannon) friend and partner.

I’ve spoken to Evans a lot over the years, and one of the things I love about him is his honesty and willingness to talk about everything. If you ask him a question about his career, or even his contract with Marvel, he’ll talk about it. Most actors will try and deflect the question, or give a politician’s answer. That’s not how Evans operates and it’s very refreshing. So besides talking about The Iceman and working with Michael Shannon, Evans talked about how his career has blown up, the intricacies of his Marvel contract, the business of Hollywood, playing a critical character of the Marvel universe, Captain America 2 (Captain America: The Winter Solider), whether he knows anything about Captain America 3, the success of The Avengers, Joss Whedon, Thor 2, Bong Joon-ho‘s Snowpiercer, the greatness of Hayley Atwell, his upcoming anti-romantic comedy A Many Splintered Thing with Michelle Monaghan, and so much more. Hit the jump for more.

Iron Man 3 opens this weekend so it’s old news.  It’s six months until Thor: The Dark World so now we need to know almost everything about it.  The sequel has Thor (Chris Hemsworth) reuniting with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), and faced with the new threat of sorcerer Malekith the Accursed (Christopher Eccleston) and his horde of dark elves.  New director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones) takes the action off of Earth and into the mystical realms that will lend themselves to some impressive sets and set pieces.

Hit the jump for what Kevin Feige, Marvel’s President of Production, had to say about the Asgardian’s upcoming adventure, and also comments on Edgar Wright‘s Ant-Man.  The film also stars Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.  Click here for Feige’s comments on Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Avengers 2.

Last night I had the opportunity to check out a late showing of Pain & Gain during which I encountered a few thoughts that I couldn’t shake: 1) I wish Michael Bay would make more films like this and less of the transforming car variety. 2) Why can’t Dwayne Johnson be in every movie? 3) This is probably the craziest “Based on a True Story” movie I’ve ever seen. I’ve heard Bay say that some of the most extreme elements of the plot are also the most true to the original story. This is good to know because had someone written a lot of what shows up in the film I would likely call it too farfetched for my suspended disbelief to withstand. Make no mistake, this is a wild, entertaining ride that utilizes layers of action, crime, comedy, sex, and even a touch of sadism to keep you invested from beginning to end.

My mini-review aside, this week’s Top 5 includes the first trailer for Thor: The Dark World, Pain & Gain interviews with Michael Bay, Mark Wahlberg, and more, a recap of our visit to Pixar for Monsters University, news that Zack Snyder could take the helm of Justice League pending Man of Steel‘s success, and the first entry in a new interview series from Steve: “Breaking Down the Movie” with The Place Beyond the Pines director Derek Cianfrance. As is customary, a brief recap and link to each of the above is ready and waiting after the jump.

As all of you surely know by now, Marvel Studios is gearing up for a second round of films (chief among them Iron Man 3, Captain America: Winter Soldier, and Thor: The Dark World) that will pick up where Joss Whedon’s The Avengers left off.  The format’s exactly the same as it was the first time around:  each film advances the story of both the hero at its core and the overall Avengers mythology, and eventually it’ll all come together in The Avengers 2.

And it’s already started:  Iron Man 3’s on the verge of being released, and just last night Marvel revealed Thor: The Dark World’s first trailer.  The response to that preview seemed very, very positive…and we’re expecting a similar response to the quintet of Thor: The Dark World posters recently revealed by UK artist Olly Moss (even if most people probably won’t ever be able to buy one).  We’ve got ‘em after the jump, folks.

And Phase Two is off and running.  With the release of Iron Man 3 just over a week away, Disney and Marvel unveiled the first teaser trailer for this fall’s sequel Thor: The Dark World this morning.  While Marvel dipped its toe into the fantastical realm with the first Thor, it’s clear from this debut trailer that director Alan Taylor’s (Game of Thrones) follow-up is very heavy on the fantasy.  We’ve gone through the new trailer and screengrabbed a batch of images, giving us a better look at the world of Thor 2 and its characters.  Christopher Eccleston’s villain Malekith looks especially sinister, and I can’t get enough of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki reveal.

Hit the jump to check out the images, and if you somehow missed the trailer click here.  The film also stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.

Marvel has released the first trailer for director Alan Taylor’s (Game of Thrones) sequel Thor: The Dark World and it looks great.  Like every well cut trailer, it showcases a ton of impressive looking action, while revealing new details about the story.  I especially liked the reveal of how Loki (Tom Hiddleston) will be involved in the sequel.   If you dug the first Thor, you’re going to love this trailer.  Hit the jump to watch and let me know what you think in the comments.  

Thor: The Dark World stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christopher Eccleston,Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.

Disney has released a couple of new images from director Alan Taylor’s (Game of Thrones) Marvel sequel Thor: The Dark World.  We’ll get our first look at footage from the film tomorrow when the debut trailer is released, but for now these images do a nice job of teasing the God of Thunder’s return as well as Natalie Portman’s role in the follow-up.  It’s clear that Portman’s Jane joins Thor in Asgard in the film, and I’m interested to see how the character adjusts to life in the realm.

Hit the jump to check out the images and for some rather revealing quotes about what to expect from Thor 2 storywise, and check back here tomorrow to catch the first trailer.  The film also stars Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.

Marvel has unveiled the first poster for the sequel Thor: The Dark World.  This debut comes ahead of the film’s first trailer, which is set to be released next week.  There’s not much to the poster other than an intimidating-looking Chris Hemsworth as the titular character surrounded by a rather intense storm.  The sequel, directed by Game of Thrones helmer Alan Taylor, will find Thor squaring off against the villainous dark elf Malekith the Accursed, played by Christopher Eccleston.

Hit the jump to check out the poster, and come back on Tuesday, April 23rd to see the film’s trailer.  The pic also stars Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.

Marvel’s run of Phase One films culminated with the smashing success of last year’s The Avengers, and while Phase Two is gearing up to kick off next month with the release of Iron Man 3, there are a couple of Marvel veterans who have their hands creatively in more than one upcoming film.  Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely wrote the script for Captain America: The First Avenger, and while they were enlisted to pen the sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the duo also worked on the screenplay for this November’s Thor: The Dark World.

Steve recently spoke with Markus and McFeely in anticipation of director Michael Bay’s upcoming black comedy Pain & Gain (which they wrote), and during the course of their conversation the two talked extensively about their work on Captain America 2, Thor 2, and Marvel films in general.  Hit the jump to see what they had to say about Easter Eggs, Black Widow’s presence in Cap 2, the amount of flashbacks we can expect, planning for Phase Three, and much, much more.

Earlier today, we were treated to some images of concept art from Marvel’s Phase Two slate of films, courtesy of the release of Marvel’s Phase One box set today on Blu-ray.  Now, there is a sneak peek video for Marvel’s Phase Two available along with concept artwork and images that provide a look at Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy and even Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man.

Hit the jump to take a look at the video, concept art and images from Marvel’s Phase Two films.

While DC and Warner Bros. are still trying to figure out what to do with their superheroes, Marvel already has the path laid out for “Phase Two”: Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Granted, all of the films except Guardians are sequels, but Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige says we shouldn’t be expecting more of the same.  Fans should anticipate new approaches, different sides of the characters, and trying to build it all to The Avengers 2.

Hit the jump for more.

Earlier today, Hasbro previewed a number of toys they’ll be premiering at Toy Fair 2013 tomorrow.  While most of the presentation showcased toys that will be released in the next few months like Iron Man 3 and Star Wars, they did tease something that will be on store shelves later this year: Thor: The Dark World.  Even though the movie doesn’t get released until November, Hasbro revealed upcoming versions of Thor, Loki and the Dark Elves.  As you can see after the jump, on display were the new 3.75″ inch figures, a new “Titan Hero Series” line, and a Thunder Strike Thor.  Check out the images and then let me know what you think.

We’ve got a couple of superhero images for you this morning.  First up, Empire has released a hi-res version of the previously released image of the sharp-dressed, sharp-clawed Logan (Hugh Jackman) from The Wolverine.  There’s also an official set photo of director Alan Taylor and Chris Hemsworth on the set of Thor: The Dark World.  I like to imagine that Taylor is stoned out of his mind in this image, and marveling at the size of his hand.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The Wolverine opens in 3D on July 26th.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.

Jaimie Alexander kicks ass with the best of them in Kim Jee-woon’s The Last Stand.  Playing the Sheriff deputy Sarah Torrance, Alexander mixes it up with the boys and gets in on the gun fights and the stunts as their over-powered team attempts to prevent a ruthless drug lord and his well-armed militia from crossing the border.  In a recent video interview, Alexander talked about doing her own stunts, working with action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, revealed her favorite weapon and even teased fans about her character’s involvement in Thor: The Dark World.

Also starring Johnny Knoxville, Luis Guzman, Eduardo Noriega, Rodrigo Santoro, Zack Gilford and Peter Stormare, The Last Stand opens January 18th.  Hit the jump to watch our video interview with Alexander.

Before she aids the God of Thunder later this year in Thor: The Dark World, Jaimie Alexander will back up Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Last Stand.  From director Kim Jee-woon, this old school actioner pits a small town sheriff’s department against a ruthless drug lord with a high-powered militia who are making a beeline for the border.  Also starring Johnny Knoxville, Luis Guzman, Rodrigo Santoro, Eduardo Noriega, Forest Whitaker and Peter Stormare, The Last Stand opens January 18th.

In a recent interview, Alexander talked about The Last Stand and how its action compared to that of the fantasy world of Thor, as well as her favorite action sequences to film, her favorite weapon used in the movie and the benefits of working with an international cast and crew.  She also gave us an update on Thor: The Dark World and revealed a bit more about what we can expect to see from her character, Sif.  Alexander also talked about her work in David Marconi’s film, Intersection, an undisclosed action film she has coming up and her desire to star in a comedy with Will Ferrell.  Hit the jump for the full interview.